Debonair Returns
by Aquafire
Summary: My very first Rayearth story! Nova's back, but something's wrong with Hikaru! What is it? Read and find out. L+H, F+F, U+? pairings
1. Hikaru Disappears!

Debonair's Return-Chapter 1

_Okay okay, basic overview of the story;The Mashin are still able to be summoned, only in times of need._

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_After Season 2 of Rayearth.And Nova's good, surprise!Read and review, please, but be nice, it's my first Rayearth story here on Fanfiction.net!_

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_Disclaimer:I don't own Rayearth!Copyright belongs to the respective owners._

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"I want to go back to Cephiro!"Hikaru said sadly to Umi and Fuu.The three of them were enjoying a picnic in a park near the Tokyo Tower on the anniversary of their visit to the other world.Fuu nodded.

"I do wish to see Ferio again," she replied dreamily.Umi gave her a nudge and a wink.

"And I want to see how Cephiro's changed after our last adventure there," Umi agreed."But how are we supposed to get there?"as if on cue, the tell-tale flash of light appeared, and the three were sucked away, back to Cephiro.

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'Something's wrong' Lantis thought to himself as he looked at Hikaru's retreating back.She never asked to leave the dinner table early, as he himself had seen how much of a voracious eater the Magic Knight of Fire was.

The Knights were back from their world after a year, and not much had changed.The girls had matured a little bit, but that was it.Hikaru was still as lively as ever, Umi, serious, and Fuu, polite.

Glancing over the dining table, Lantis saw the goo-goo eyes that Prince Ferio was making at Fuu.Umi was talking up a storm with Caldina and Lafarga, with Caldina on Lafarga's lap.Strangely, the captain of the guard didn't look at all uncomfortable with the dancer sitting on top of his leg.On the contrary, he looked like he was enjoying it.Master Mage Clef was chatting with Fuu and Ascott about some political issue at hand involving the people of Fahren, and opening the trade routes between all four countries.

The three girls had returned in normal fashion.In other words, unexpectedly.

"Lantis, are you listening?" Presea asked kindly.He shot back at attention.  
  
"Uhm yea, I'm listening," Lantis replied absently.Presea gave him a reasssuring look.

"Go check on her, Lantis," she said, giving his arm a nudge.He shot her a look of relief before walking quietly out of the dining hall.

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Hikaru couldn't take the guilt anymore.After Clef had mentioned how Cephiro had changed for the better, she couldn't bear to listen anymore.She went into her room and sat on the windowsill, crying her heart out.Dark feelings of guilt and pain flooded her mind and heart.A shimmer started beside her.Within a few seconds, Nova was there, stroking Hikaru's hair sadly.

"Why was I so weak?!Why did I kill both her and Zagato?!"Hikaru kept on crying out.All Nova could do was be there, after all, she was created from Hikaru's mind and came into existence the moment that the Magic Knights put Princess Emeraude out of her misery.She knew what Hikaru was thinking, and felt the same agonizing pain lance in her heart.

"You did what you had to do," Nova tried saying, but Hikaru wouldn't listen.Just kept on crying.

"Lantis loves you because you made the world of Cephiro a better place," Nova continued."He knows you did what you had to do in order to save it."

"But there must have been another way!" Hikaru screamed at Nova, tears streaming down her face.

Nova shirked back a little; even she didn't expect that kind of reaction.

"I don't deserve to be a Magic Knight, I don't deserve friends, I don't deserve Lantis.I don't deserve anything!"Hikaru cried out sorrowfully, standing up slowly.Nova could feel the sadness flow through her mind like black, polluted water.

Just then, Nova began to see some sort of shell surround Hikaru's body.It looked like some sort of crystalline structure.She began to shake with fear.

"Hikaru, you know this isn't how you solve it!" Nova cried desperately, pounding her fists against the hardening crystal.

'This is how I will solve it, though,' Hikaru spoke into Nova's mind.'Please… take care…'

Just then, Lantis charged into the room, and froze in his tracks.

"Hikaru, no…" he whispered pleadingly.

'Lantis… my love… I must do this… to protect everyone…,' Hikaru said, the crystal structure completing itself.Hikaru encased in the crystal began to fade away.Nova kept on pounding against the crystal futilely, trying to shatter it, but one knows that Hikaru made it, and her will was the strongest in all of Cephiro.

Lantis ran to where Hikaru and Nova was, fear etched in his normally cool features.

'Please… tell everyone… I love them…' Hikaru's thought voice was fading fast.

"Where are you going??" Nova and Lantis cried out simultaneously.

'Nova knows… she was there before… aishiteru, Lantis… Nova…' With that last thought, Hikaru disappeared.

"IIE!!" Lantis cried out in rage and frustration, falling to his knees and pounding his fists into the floor."She's gone…"But a strange glint began to shine in his fist.Opening it slowly, he found a ribbon.Hikaru's hair ribbon.

"The place I was before…" Nova was thinking quickly."The alternate world of Cephiro!" But then, Nova began fading away as well.She gave a small yelp of surprise.

"Nova, is Hikaru calling you back?!"Lantis asked frantically.She gave a small, helpless nod before she, too, disappeared without a trace.

'The alternate world of Cephiro…' Lantis thought.'Debonair's palace.'Just then, the door flew open.

"We heard a commotion!"Fuu cried out breathlessly.Everyone who was at the dinner table was now crowding into Hikaru's empty room.Primera came flying up from behind Umi, and began looking around suspiciously.

"Where's that little girl who keeps on trying to steal my Lantis?!"Primera yelled.All Lantis could do was clutch the ribbon tighter in his hand.Everyone pretty much ignored her tedious and loud cries.

"Lantis, where is Hikaru?" Clef asked quietly.

"She's gone… to the other dimension… to slowly torture herself…for Emeraude, and my brother," Lantis whispered quietly.

"Whaatt?That little missy sure needs a good talking to!" Caldina said."She knows that she had to do what she had to to save us all, but she's still beating herself up after all this time?"

"It's true, it makes no sense to me why Hikaru still feels guilt for granting Emeraude's wish." Ascott said sadly."You forgave her, but she still can't accept it."

"We have to find some way to get her back!"Presea cried out.

"Before she disappeared, Nova was also here, but she disappeared with Hikaru as well," Lantis continued.

"Hikaru is slowly killing herself," a familiar voice said.Everyone whirled around, and saw the ghost-like figure of Nova floating in the doorway, quickly soildifying, however.

"What did you just say, Nova??"Umi cried out, partially in shock.

"She is trying to kill herself," Nova repeated slowly."She locked herself in Debonair's old fortress, and the negative energies from her heart are filling the entire alternate dimension with darkness, until her fire dies.Along with me."

"Miss Nova, how can we go to the alternate dimension?"Fuu asked quickly, trembling."We must save her soon!"Ferio put a supportive arm around her shoulders.

"The darkness has all but sealed off any entry to or from the dimension," Nova said, shaking her head sadly."I was only able to come here because of my own will.Hikaru did not want me to come here, but, as I am a part of her, we share the same powerful wills."

"Leave that brat to do whatever she wants!"scoffed Primera."She keeps on trying to steal my Lantis!"She was ignored again, as usual.

"Nova, is there -any- way at all to get to the alternate dimension?"Clef asked.

"Yes," Nova said slowly."However, it will require all of my energy, which is diminishing fairly quickly now, and when I run out, I will have to return to Hikaru, no longer able to help.Once in the alternate world, you will be alone.And I can only transport up to 3 people there.More, and I will kill Hikaru as well as myself."

"Take me," Lantis said confidently, but with a twinge of -fear-?

"No way are you going without me!"Umi cried, stepping forward.

"Yes, we must get Miss Hikaru back," Fuu said.

"That's three, then," Nova said.However, both Ferio and Clef grabbed her arms.

"Please, I beg you, find some way to transport me as well," Ferio pleaded.He didn't want Fuu facing Hikaru when she was in a state like this.

"If it's the alternate dimension of Cephiro, I'm needed to keep a path open to home," Clef said."If I don't, and you're too drained of energy, you all could be trapped there."The five of them, Umi, Fuu, Ferio, Clef, and Lantis, formed a circle around her.Nova gave a defeated sigh.

"All right, but you all need to focus your wills into me, otherwise, it's impossible, and I will die, along with Hikaru," Nova said slowly, closing her eyes in deep concentration.The five of them began to glow bright yellow; the glow then transferred to Nova in the center.

"TRANSPORT!"Nova cried, and in a final flash, the six disappeared from Cephiro castle.

"Good luck, all of you, and bring our Hikaru back," Presea whispered.

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_Eeee, so how was that?The next part should come up within the next few days!_


	2. Transfer of Power

Oh wow!! Thank you for your reviews!! ^^ Here's the next chapter, "Transfer of Power!"  
  
DISCLAIMER: No, Rayearth doesn't belong to me. What belongs to me is my sketchpad, worth $2, so don't sue!!  
  
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They all landed with a dull thud in the dark world. The acrid smell stung at Umi's nose, and made her eyes tear up. The thick air was cold, deviod of any light, while the world looked even worse than when Lady Debonair existed here. Sharp rocks, boulders, and cliffs jutted out at unearthly angles and positions. Even the very land was dead. Far away in the distance, a lone castle existed.  
  
"A castle made of black crystal," Lantis whispered. "That must me where Hikaru is!" He began to break into a run, but Ferio grabbed his arm and held him back.  
  
"Let me go, Ferio!" Lantis said, trying to break free of the Prince's grip. But Ferio shook his head.  
  
"Hikaru isn't who she is anymore, and it is too dangerous out there for you alone. And you know it," Clef said quietly. This angered Lantis, but he reluctantly calmed down, knowing that Clef was right.  
  
"Miss Nova, are you all right??" Fuu cried, running to Nova after seeing her collapse to the ground.   
  
"Y-yeah… I'll be fine…" Nova said weakly, her form turning transparent. "I'm too weak to support myself anymore, and I have to rest for a while… please, save Hikaru…" With that, Nova disappeared. Returning to Hikaru.  
  
"Nova, what are we supposed to do?!" Umi cried into nothing.  
  
'Just go to the castle and save Hikaru,' Nova's voice echoed hollowly and wispingly in their minds. 'Only you can bring her back… Lantis, summon Rayearth. You will need his aid in this battle… goodbye, my friends…' Then Nova's voice went silent, most likely too drained of energy to continue.  
  
"I'm not a Magic Knight, how am I supposed to summon the great Rayearth?" Lantis wondered aloud.  
  
"Just try it, anything can happen here," Umi said assuringly. Lantis gave a small nod.  
  
"Rayearth!! Come to my aid!" Lantis cried. A pause. Then a longer one. Nothing.  
  
"Try again, Mr Lantis," Fuu said quietly. "I'm sure that if you will it to happen hard enough, Rayearth will appear."  
  
Lantis took a deep breath. "Rayearth, come to my aid in the name of Hikaru, Magic Knight of Fire!!" he shouted. A deep rumbling began to issue from the ground, causing it to quake and shake violently. Ferio grabbed Fuu and held her protectively. Rayearth's beast form, the wolf, appeared in front of them.  
  
"Whosoeth summons me in the name of the Knight of Fire?" boomed Rayearth's deep voice.  
  
"I, Lantis, master magic swordsman of Cephiro, summoned you," Lantis replied. "Do you know of what has been happening to Hikaru?" Rayearth was silent for a moment.  
  
"She has been consumed by her grief for granting the Princess Emeraude's wish," Rayearth replied quietly, or as quiet as it could be. "Even I have tried to get her back, but my attempts have failed. And her sorrow has created a powerful weapon. An image of myself, only full of dark energy. Its power rivals even myself, Windam's, and Selece's power combined. In this state, she cannot don me. In her name, I transfer my power to you, Lantis, until Hikaru is restored." Rayearth began to glow a searing bright red-orange.  
  
Lantis closed his eyes and felt the fire energy flow through his veins, burning white-hot as the power of Rayearth entered his body. The light surrounded his form, masking him from sight.  
  
Clef, Ferio, Umi, and Fuu shielded their eyes, the blinding light filling the area. An unforseen urge to summon the mashin filled their minds.  
  
"WINDAM!" Fuu cried out, still shielding her eyes. A green light shot into the sky from her body, then grew larger. The machine form of Windam appeared behind her, questioning.  
  
"SELECE!" Umi yelled. Selece's machine form appeared, also curious and questioning. Both Fuu and Umi were now in battle attire.  
  
"What is the reason for our summoning?" Windam's gentler voice called out. It boomed similar to Rayearth's, but mellower.  
  
"We have a crisis, sir Windam," Fuu said. "Hikaru has been taken over by her own grief, and is trying to kill herself with negative enrgy."  
  
"She cannot don Rayearth, but instead created a mirror of Rayearth, filled with darkness," Umi said to Selece. "Now in this time, Rayearth is lending his power to Lantis until Hikaru is back with us again."  
  
The light around Lantis died down, but everyone, including Windam and Selece, were surprised at the transformation. Lantis's normally black cape was now a deep crimson red, along with much of his armor; the armor itself was just a few shades lighter than the cape. The silver trim on his armor had turned gold, which shined brighter than ever. The once-blue gems now glowed bright red with an inner light. Finally his gold circlet had been transformed into one resembling Hikaru's tiara (or is it crown?…), only it looked more like his deceased brother Zagato's headdress. Rayearth had now transformed into its mashin form. Strangely, Hikaru's hair ribbon was tied around his wrist, like a bracelet of sorts.  
  
"That went better than I expected," Rayearth mused in an out of character way. "It seems you are suited for my power."  
  
"Rayearth, I find that amazing, as I myself gave Hikaru magic centered around fire," Clef said. "I thought that magic elements were for one person only?"  
  
"Apparently, this young man can handle all types of magic," Rayearth replied simply. "We will now go to our own dimension until the need requires our aid." With that, the three mashin disappeared, leaving behind no trace of their presence.  
  
"It's best if we get to that crystal castle to get Hikaru back," Ferio said. They all nodded in agreement before breaking into a run toward the castle.  
  
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"Are you sure that Lantis is able to handle it?" Windam asked. "This is quite a task, you know."  
  
"I am sure," Rayearth replied. "Without him, we cannot get Hikaru back."  
  
"Then hope for the best, as Hikaru is the strongest out of the Knights, and that dark you is stronger than the three of us combined," Selece said. "If the mortals cannot get her back, all is lost."  
  
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	3. Debonair revealed!

Thank you for your reviews

Thank you for your reviews!This is a story I kinda came up with in a dream, so it's all impromptu as well, since I dun remember my dreams… anyway, here's the next chapter, "Debonair revealed!"Sorry… it's a little short, but the best stuff comes later!

Disclamer:Rayearth doesn't belong to me.Only thing I own is my sketchypad, which I drew my own original Knight in…

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Hikaru and Nova were gazing over a crystal mirror in the center of a throne room.Hikaru wasn't in her school uniform; on the contrary, she was dressed similar to Princess Emeraude, only the gown was bright red with thin spaghetti straps.The symbol of the pillar, the necklace, hung around her neck; though it had lost its power, it served as a symbol of Hikaru's sadness.A flaming red gemstone was set in the center, flickering with wisps of black smoke that curled in the heart of the stone.

"Nova, you shouldn't have brought the others here," Hikaru sobbed."I will only hurt them!"

"I had to," Nova replied softly."You are trying to kill youself, what else?Do you see how much your friends care about you, though?"

"I still don't deserve it," Hikaru continued.She began to glow a deep purple-black.But what was this?A strange deep blue smoke silently entered Hikaru's body.Nova didn't notice it.

"No, you know you don't want to hurt them!"Nova cried.

"I will just give them a warning," said Hikaru in a cold voice very unlike herself.Her eyes had gone blank, and glowed with an unearthly light.

"Don't hurt them, please Hikaru!" Nova said softly."Those are the people you care about the most!"

"I will do what I must."

"Please no…"

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A low rumbling came from the ground ahead of them.

  
"Yaaaa!What's that?!" cried Umi.All watched as a huge rock-beast came exploding out of the ground ahead.It resembled a huge rock snake, down to the rock scales and the hissing stone toungue.

"A rock snake created by Hikaru's mind," Clef said, taking a fighting stance with his staff.Lantis whipped his magic sword out, but didn't Magic Knight transform, while Ferio drew his sword out as well.Umi and Fuu withdrew their Escudo-made weapons from the gemstones on their hands.

"Here it comes!"Ferio yelled as the snake lunged at the group, causing the five to scatter to all sides, surrounding the beast.The impact of its lunge made the ground quake beneath their feet.Fissures split the ground open, causing Fuu to fall.  
  
"Feriooo!!!!!" Fuu cried out as she fell into the blackness of the fissure.

"Fuu, NO!!"Ferio cried, running to the edge of the crack of earth.But fell backwards when Fuu came flying up on a shaft of magical green wind.

"Fuu, you're all right," Ferio said, relieved, as Fuu glided into his arms.

"I learned a new spell," Fuu replied softly, smiling."Hurricane Wind."Ferio's only reply was to give Fuu a gentle kiss.

Meanwhile…

"Umi, behind you!" Clef yelled.Umi leaped out of the way as the huge rock snake lunged again, just barely missing her.

"Ice Sword!"Umi cried, slicing the beast in half, and watched in mild amusement as the rocks and boulders fell harmlessly to the ground.

Only to put itself back together, angrier than ever.

"Yaaatttaaaa neeee!"Umi yelled, running away ~in chibi form~ from the rock snake.

Lantis mumbled an incantation, and a bolt of lightning came lancing from the dark sky, which struck the beast, splitting it into tiny pieces.This time, the pieces did not put themselves back together again.

"That's down, but the castle's still a good two miles away," Umi said, tossing her hair, embarassed at her show of chibi-kawaii-ness.

"Then let's get going, before Hikaru sends another creature after us," Clef said.

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Hikaru snapped back to consciousness quickly.Nova leaped back in surprise.

"Lantis…" Hikaru whispered, her eyes beginning to tear up.But then, the wall inside of her emotions and feelings came back up.The tears were blinked back.Hikaru's braid became undone by some unseen force, and her hair became as long as Umi's, but rippled like fire cascading down her back.

"Please, Hikaru… don't do this…" Nova pleaded."You know how much this hurts Lantis, to see you like this!"

"I just want to be left alone…" Hikaru said, in that cold voice again.Nova felt a shiver creep down her spine.That voice.That same, icy cold voice.

"De.. Debonair?!"Nova cried.She received no reply from the placid Hikaru, who focused inside of herself again.The necklace's gem glowed red.Blood red.

"Debonair is back…" Nova said softly, shaking her head."I never thought that she could come back, after all this time."


End file.
